When asked if she was referencing poor consultation from Cabinet, Prime Minister Tony Abbott or Treasurer Joe Hockey specifically, she replied: “All of the above.”

“I think there needs to be much more backbench communication and that clearly hasn’t happened,” she said.

“I’ve raised two children on my own, I didn’t get asked about the paid parental leave scheme. It’s a short term fix, but what we are not addressing is the structural…”

“We have party room processes and I do get up in the party room, but I think there needs to be greater communication with the backbench.”

Ms Gambaro also told the ABC that she was never asked about her own Government’s plans for a tax levy.

“As a member of the party room, I was never told that there was going to be a proposed tax levy. It’s bad policy,” she said.

“We said we were going to be a government of no surprises and I think this is absolutely a breach of trust.

OVERNIGHT

BRISBANE MP Teresa Gambaro has questioned her own Government’s plan for a debt levy on high earners, warning it would be a broken promise that would devastate the economy.

As nervous backbenchers lobbied ministers to dump the proposed tax hike today, Ms Gambaro accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of breaching the “trust” of voters by even speculating about the levy.

She also slammed Mr Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme as “too generous” and unfair at the same time pensioners and low-income earners faced welfare cuts.

Cabinet will meet today to sign off on Budget proposals, including a possible four-year tax increase on high earners.

Only days before the Budget is handed down on Tuesday, senior ministers were still at odds over the controversial plans, which some want dumped entirely.

Proposals to water down the tax rise include limiting it to two years, hitting people on the top income tax bracket of $180,000 only, or at the point where most family payments cut out at about $150,000.

But the Government will struggle to explain why it broke its election promise of no new taxes.

Ms Gambaro said any version of the mooted levy would harm the economy and break an election promise.

“I don’t see that there has been a case made for a debt levy and I would see it as a breach of a promise,” she told The Courier-Mail.

“It will have devastating impacts on the economy and people’s confidence. We went to the Australian people with the promise of being a government of no surprises.

“Playing political games of what is and what may be in the Budget is a breach of trust and doesn’t provide people with the certainty that they need.”

Panic about the possible tax increase is spreading through the Coalition and the Government has taken a hit in two polls since it was mooted.

Ms Gambaro is the third Queensland-based federal backbencher after Warren Entsch and Ian Macdonald to go public with concerns about the Budget before it is even handed down. Others including Zed Seselja, Cory Bernardi and John Cobb have also criticised the plans.

Former Howard government treasurer Peter Costello warned against any temporary tax rise, saying it would have “no economic benefit” and “will detract from growth by reducing consumption”.

But Treasurer Joe Hockey has argued it is needed to share the pain across high earners who will avoid pain from cuts to Family Tax Benefits.

Many in the Coalition are still opposed to the party’s paid parental leave scheme, which will be paid for six months based on the mother’s salary, even after Mr Abbott slashed the maximum payment from $75,000 to $50,000.

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